Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1887-06-14
PAUPER IMMIGRATION,

I'M
Secretary Bayard is carrying out his
policy of checking pauper immigration to
the United States. A cargo of penury
from Greece has just been refused wharf
age at New York.
That Mr.. Bayard's action is in accord |
with the general sentiment of the people |
there can be no doubt. The class which |
has been crowding to the shores of the /
United States for the past few years is
not to be dignifed by the word ''immi-
grafton" 1t is rather an exodus of
refuse. 1t is a European curse prac-
ticaly and efficiently applied to Amer
lea. The channels OF European immi-
grafton have passed under monarchial
control. The times are dangerous for
monarchial institutions. The monarchies
OF Europe are seething with turbulent
popular elements. These elements must
be in a measure eliminated, or monarchy
goes down in blood and anarchy's red
fGlHn DeHlLb. tOO lliC CAOhAiCO ACdnS VI
Europe have seized upon immigration,
and by its aid yearly send thousands
upon thousands OF their most turbulent
and dangerous paupers to the United
States.
The influence OF these people is felt as
soon as they place their feet upon Ameri
can soil. To this pauper immigration
the United States owes her socialists and
her anarchists, her red flags and her
dynamite bombs. This pauper immigra-
ton is responsible for the debauchery of
labor; for the senseless and stupid
strike; for the convenient moral theory
that what is yours is mine; for Henry
George and for DIR. McGlynn.
Ii any administration can strangle this
monstrous evil, it is the present Demo
cratic administration. Secretary Bayard
not only wields the authority of Govern
inent in this matter, but he is backed by
the voice of the people, whose exponent
in all things the Administration OF Mr..
Cleveland is. This is not party matter.
II is a matter OF national import. Fealty
to country is appealed to. Patriotism is
invoked. Pauper immigration is direct
assault on the well-being of the nation.
1t is redolent with present evil and bris-
ties with dangers in the future. The
people are imperatively called on to de-
iend themselves.
In illustration of the workings Of pau
per immigration, we quote the following
statistics and remarks from a valued and
well-posted exchange:
The statistics of immigration show the
percentage of farmers among immigrants
from Europe to have been: 1820-30, 8.5;
lS3l-40, 13, lS4l-50, 14.5; lS5l-60, IA;
lS61-6S, ll.9; 1888, S.3. These fig
Gres are significant; but still more so are
these compiled from official sources by
the New York EUening Post:
In 1873 14.7 per cent of the immigrating
farmers came from the United Kingdom; in
1856 the percentage was about the same
(144), though it had fallen to 8.3 per cent.
in 1882, a fall due chiefly to a decrease in
the movement of farmers from Ireland.
Denmark and France furnished nearly the
same per cent. in 1886 aS in 1873 On the
other hand the share of Austria Hungary
rose from 1.2 per cent. in 1873 to per cent.
in 1886; of Italy, fir, m less than l per cent
in 1877 TO 7.3 per cent. in 1886; of Russia,
from .5 per cent. in 1873 to 2.5 per cent. in
1886, and of Sweden, from 2.3 per cent. in
1878 to per cent. in 1886. The percentage
of farmers coming from Germany fell from
1876 in 1873 to 27.9 in 1886, and from Nor
way from l0.5 in the former year to 90 in
the latter.
So then the arithmetic of the ques-
ton completely answers the argument
that we must place no restriction upon
immigration, because we need the people
to settle the unoccupied lands. The
farmer immigration has fallen off until it
is a mere trifle. More than that, the
class now coming is ill-adapted
to engage in American farming.
They hail from sections which employ
only the primitive methods in agri-
culture, and the immigrants rating
themselves as farmers are mainly below
the level in agricultural ability and the
most unskilled tillers of the soil known
to our system, just as the immigrants
tlocking to the cities are largely OF the
class that swells the ranks OF unskilled
workers.
As the Chicago Inter Ocean well says:
"Every fact obtainable on the subject
proves beyond doubt that our present
unrestricted immigration lowers the
quality of labor, agricultural and me-
chanical, in intelligence, morality and
skill. We have assimilated great deal
of rubbish in the past, but we must soon
reach the limit of such assimilation, if
we have not already, and the time is
rapidly approaching when self-preserva-
ton will demand a stringent law of
restriction -